Snatcher
is a cyberpunk adventure game written by Hideo Kojima and produced by Konami. It was originally released in Japan for the PC-8801 and MSX2 computer platforms in 1988. A CD-ROM-based remake for the PC Engine was released in 1992, which was subsequently localized into English for the Sega CD in 1994 in North America and Europe. The enhanced version was later ported twice more to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in Japan. Overview The setting and story of ''Snatcher are heavily influenced by cyberpunk and science-fiction media, taking place in a large futuristic dystopian city. The story revolves around an investigator named Gillian Seed assigned to investigate a breed of bioroids known as "snatchers", who are killing humans and taking their place in society. Gameplay takes place in a menu-based interface. The player can choose from pre-defined options such as "Look" and "Talk" to interact with the environment and its characters. Snatcher is widely regarded as groundbreaking for the adventure genre, in that it introduced visual novel characteristics to flesh out a deep back story. Sales outside of Japan were poor due to Sega's waning support for the Sega CD, but the game has gained a cult following. Features In Snatcher, Gillian Seed, the protagonist of the game, has a robot partner named "Metal Gear", which is modeled after the giant mech usually fought in the series of the same name. In a well-known scene, Gillian goes to a bar called "Outer Heaven" (another reference to the Metal Gear series) to interview a dancer who works there. The establishment is having a masquerade ball that night where all of the attendants are dressed as characters from other popular Konami franchises, including: *Simon Belmont and Dracula from Castlevania. *Bill Rizer and Lance Bean from Contra. **They were replaced by Light and Pastel from the TwinBee series in the PlayStation and Saturn ports of the game. *Goemon from the Ganbare Goemon series. *Sparkster from Rocket Knight Adventures. **Replaced by Power Pro-kun from the Power Pro series in the PlayStation and Saturn ports of the game. *Mr. Ueda from Lethal Enforcers. In addition, when Gillian and Jamie Seed confront the main antagonist, Elijah Madnar, in the climax to the game, the latter is seen sitting on a throne similar to the one Dracula sits on in the Castlevania games. Other appearances *A Snatcher is a playable character in Hai no Majutsushi. *Stage 3 in Contra III: The Alien Wars (Neo Kobe Steel Factory) is set in "Neo Kobe", the setting of Snatcher, and features Snatcher-looking androids as end bosses. *Gillian Seed makes a cameo in Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu. *A Snatcher is a selectable character in Jikkyō Power Pro Wrestling '96: Max Voltage, under the name of "Mister Snatcher". *The theme "Snatcher ~Dual Vacuum Mix~" from beatmania Append ClubMIX is from Snatcher. Gallery Snatcher - 01.gif|The scene at the "Outer Heaven" nightclub. Snatcher - 03.jpg|From left to right: Mr. Ueda, Dracula and Simon Belmont, Goemon, Bill and Lance, Sparkster. Snatcher - 04.png|PlayStation/Saturn port. Snatcher - 05.png|Elijah sitting on a Dracula-like throne. Hai no Majutsushi - 02.jpg|Snatcher from the Hai no Majutsushi cover artwork. Trivia *In the original PC-8801 release of Snatcher, the scene in the "Outer Heaven" nightclub is attended by a totally different array of characters parodying other popular franchises, such as Alien and the Kamen Rider series. External links *''Snatcher'' at the Crossover Wiki Category:Cameo Games Category:PlayStation Games Category:Saturn Games